My number one favorite book. I know of no other text that comes as close to expressing what lies beyond words. The little booklet (it consists of about five thousand characters) begins with the statement: “the Tao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Tao.” And then it goes on speaking about the Tao, not in the mode of definition, but in that of allusion, suggestion, provocation. That is its charm, that is why it has cast its spell over generations of readers from East and West. It does not speak to the logical mind: it points to an experience. Like Zen koans, it walks the reader to the edge of an abyss, where the mind stops.